Obama’s National Security Ju-Jitsu
As someone who was really excited about the new direction that Obama promised in foreign policy, I was a tad disappointed with the trifecta of Gates, Clinton and Jones for the three key national security/foreign policy jobs. But the more I think about it, it seems like Obama is using three figures (or at least two) with impeccable reputations and credibility within the military and defense communities to still pursue what is, in some ways, the progressive foreign policy goal: a shift in focus from conducting foreign policy with the military to conducting foreign policy primarily through diplomacy. The Times has more:
Yet all three of his choices — SenatorHillary Rodham Clinton as the rival turned secretary of state; Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander, as national security adviser, and Robert M. Gates, the current and future defense secretary — have embraced a sweeping shift of priorities and resources in the national security arena.
The shift would create a greatly expanded corps of diplomats and aid workers that, in the vision of the incoming Obama administration, would be engaged in projects around the world aimed at preventing conflicts and rebuilding failed states. However, it is unclear whether the financing would be shifted from the Pentagon; Mr. Obama has also committed to increasing the number of American combat troops.Whether they can make the change — one that Mr. Obama started talking about in the summer of 2007, when his candidacy was a long shot at best — “will be the great foreign policy experiment of the Obama presidency,” one of his senior advisers said recently.
The adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the three have all embraced “a rebalancing of America’s national security portfolio” after a huge investment in new combat capabilities during the Bush years.
So, despite my concerns with the Clinton Global Initiative and with Clinton picking her own staff, it seems like Obama has once again executed a brilliant strategic coup. Although Clinton is something of a hawk, she’s more of an influence and power-hound, meaning that putting her at State automatically means that Obama has a fierce advocate for a bigger focus on diplomacy and aid work.
Gates, despite his history in the defense bureaucracy and of appointments by Republican presidents, has distinguished himself by pushing back against the military’s request for ever more expensive weapons system and a “just blow shit up” approach to resolving conflicts. Jones, whose own credibility is unimpeachable due to being the former commandant of the Marine Corps, has a history of fairly moderate foreign policy views and is apparently totally on board for this foreign policy rethink.
I guess the real questions will come up in a time of crisis. If there’s, say, a terrorist attack which could be connected to Iran, I don’t think we’ll see Clinton talking about the need to build up our diplomatic capabilities. In times like that, doves will be hoping that Obama will be able to hold out against the inevitably hawkish advice of his three chief foreign policy people. At that time, we might be wishing we had a slightly different cast of characters running our foreign policy.
